2021 Brompton C-Line Explore

[wafter]

I had a puncture last week on the B, a slow one, put some air in the rear tyre and just about got home to fix it . It is a bit of a faff, but at least I know how to do it now.

Indeed - as a home-based task it's a pain but perfectly manageable... as an in-field repair it's too much IMO


This morning's journey added an extra side of sh*te to yesterday's dogsh*t sandwich. The drive was a bit frustrating thanks to hesitant / selfish drivers, and once more the traffic was backed up from the roundabout at the turnpike; preventing me from getting to the estate upon which I usually park.

I clocked this from afar and managed to duck off down a side road; parking a bit further out but negating the need to sit in traffic. Out on the bike I chose to travel down the outside of the mostly static column of vehicles given the state of the cycle paths - poorly surfaced, poorly signposted and requiring at least one traffic-light-controlled crossing of the busy road.

I got as far as the impassable back end of a truck; having to wait for the oncoming traffic to pass before I could continue. Irritatingly this was right next to one of the crossings and well-meaning, if inobservant drivers kept stopping to let me cross; when all I wanted them to do was GTF on their way so that I could do the same

Out on to the tow path and I gave way to a stream of cyclists entering from the newly-opened route from the cycle path from the road.. being rewarded with no thanks or acknowledgement. After half a mile of being stuck behind them, the tow path opened up and I blasted past them.

From that point on the journey improved - at least temporarily - despite the lack of sun and oppressive humidity. A quick stop at the butchers for breakfast and I was on my way through town and back on the tow path. Enthused by my apparent good time in reaching Iffley lock despite the late start and sausage stop I experienced last night's horrible, very familiar protestations from the back of the bike - glancing back to see yet another flat

Being maybe a mile from work and mindful that given yesterday's twin punctures repair might not be straightforward I chose to push the bike the rest of the way, arriving about 10 minutes late.

Thankfully I had a bit of time to myself upon arrival so stripped the back wheel; expecting to find one of last night's punctures responsible for today's failure. I'm not sure whether I should be enthused or disappointed to find this most recent puncture was totally unrelated:

I patched the tube with one of the few remaining patches and put it all back together; to find it still leaking as the pin had penetrated both sides of the tube. Only having one, sub-optimally-sized patch left (having allowed my rampant procrastination to extend to buying some more patches) I opted to fit the spare tube I'm now very glad I packed.

Now the bike is all back together again; I need to get some more patches, repair the old tube (which yesterday was perfect; soon will have four patches), maybe refit it to keep the better one as a spare and potentially purchase another.

Still seriously considering attempting some ghetto tubeless action as the events of the past 24hrs have really shaken my confidence; despite the prior three puncture-free months..

 

[EltonFrog]

Indeed - as a home-based task it's a pain but perfectly manageable... as an in-field repair it's too much IMO


This morning's journey added an extra side of sh*te to yesterday's dogsh*t sandwich. The drive was a bit frustrating thanks to hesitant / selfish drivers, and once more the traffic was backed up from the roundabout at the turnpike; preventing me from getting to the estate upon which I usually park.

I clocked this from afar and managed to duck off down a side road; parking a bit further out but negating the need to sit in traffic. Out on the bike I chose to travel down the outside of the mostly static column of vehicles given the state of the cycle paths - poorly surfaced, poorly signposted and requiring at least one traffic-light-controlled crossing of the busy road.

I got as far as the impassable back end of a truck; having to wait for the oncoming traffic to pass before I could continue. Irritatingly this was right next to one of the crossings and well-meaning, if inobservant drivers kept stopping to let me cross; when all I wanted them to do was GFT on their way so that I could do the same

Out on to the tow path and I gave way to a stream of cyclists entering from the newly-opened route from the cycle path from the road.. being rewarded with no thanks or acknowledgement. After half a mile of being stuck behind them, the tow path opened up and I blasted past them.

From that point on the journey improved - at least temporarily - despite the lack of sun and oppressive humidity. A quick stop at the butchers for breakfast and I was on my way through town and back on the tow path. Enthused by my apparent good time in reaching Iffley lock despite the late start and sausage stop I experienced last night's horrible, very familiar protestations from the back of the bike - glancing back to see yet another flat

Being maybe a mile from work and being mindful that give yesterday's twin punctures repair might not be straightforward I chose to push the bike the rest of the way, arriving about 10 minutes late.

Thankfully I had a bit of time to myself upon arrival so stripped the back wheel; expecting to find one of last night's punctures responsible for today's failure. I'm not sure whether I should be enthused or disappointed to find this most recent puncture was totally unrelated:

View attachment 706250


I patched the tube with one of the few remaining patches and put it all back together; to find it still leaking as the pin had penetrated both sides of the tube. Only having one, sub-optimally-sized patch left (having allowed my rampant procrastination to extend to buying some more patches) I opted to fit the spare tube I'm now very glad I packed.

Now the bike is all back together again; I need to get some more patches, repair the old tube (which yesterday was perfect; soon will have four patches), maybe refit it to keep the better one as a spare and potentially purchase another.

Still seriously considering attempting some ghetto tubeless action as the events of the past 24hrs have really shaken my confidence; despite the prior three puncture-free months..

Well, that is seriously unlucky, and that certainly would have incurred my displeasure, I probably would have said some words.
I had the foresight to order extra patches some while ago, along with tubes, I even bought two tyres as an emergency. (we are a two Brompton household).

 

[wafter]

Well, that is seriously unlucky, and that certainly would have incurred my displeasure, I probably would have said some words.
I had the foresight to order extra patches some while ago, along with tubes, I even bought two tyres as an emergency. (we are a two Brompton household).

Thanks and yes; it's very much undermined my faith in the tyres' ability to get me to work and back reliably.. although as you say hopefully just unlucky.

Well done for your pragmatism; I'm usually the same as driven by the anxious desire to cater for every eventuality and save my future-self from any un-necessary uncertainty and grief. I also bought a lot of patches a while ago, but unfortunately have dropped the ball in renewing these since running low.

Good work with the tyres; it did occur to me last night that carrying a folder might not be a bad idea given the potential for things to get stuck in them and hamper ongoing repairs..

In other news I was previously considering the Brompton toolkit; however my own council version - as carried in the bag - has been fine. I'm very happy to not spunk £65 on duplicating this functionality; especially since filling the frame with cavity wax might make its use somewhat messy...

Right; faced with the very real possibility of getting stranded, I'm off to ebay to try and overcome the decision paralysis of selecting some patches!

 

[Gunk]

Stick a spare inner tube inside the frame

 

[EltonFrog]

Stick a spare inner tube inside the frame

Ahh, yes good point, I have two tubes stuffed up the frame.

 

[Gunk]

Wrap it in cling film with some of those plastic gloves you get from the petrol station.

Take the old one home, fix it there and then use that as the spare, much easier than farting about on tow paths with patches

 

[a.twiddler]

Thanks and yes; it's very much undermined my faith in the tyres' ability to get me to work and back reliably.. although as you say hopefully unlucky.

Well done for your pragmatism; I'm usually the same as driven by the anxious desire to cater for every eventuality and save my future-self from any un-necessary uncertainty and grief. I also bought a lot of patches a while ago, but unfortunately have dropped the ball in renewing these since running low.

Good work with the tyres; it did occur to me last night that carrying a folder might not be a bad idea given the potential for things to get stuck in them and hamper ongoing repairs..

In other news I was previously considering the Brompton toolkit; however my own council version - as carried in the bag - has been fine. I'm very happy to not spunk £65 on duplicating this functionality; especially since filling the frame with cavity wax might make its use somewhat messy...

Right; faced with the very real possibility of getting stranded, I'm off to ebay to try and overcome the decision paralysis of selecting some patches!

Just consider the number of times it's got you to work and back reliably compared to the number of times it didn't. I suspect that the balance is heavily in favour of reliability. Even when punctured, you made it to work and back somehow.

Spare tubes, spare patches and a fresh unopened tube of rubber solvent. If you haven't had a puncture for a while it's more than inconvenient to find that a previously opened one contains only air as it has an amazing ability to evaporate despite a tightly screwed on cap. You can get packs of small ones on ebay quite cheaply.

One positive aspect of all this is that once you've had the wheel off a few times it gets less daunting to fix a rear wheel puncture.

 

[Tenkaykev]

Ahh, yes good point, I have two tubes stuffed up the frame.

If that was me it would be " I know I've got a couple of spare tubes somewhere, where the bloody hell did I put them "

 

[EltonFrog]

Wrap it in cling film with some of those plastic gloves you get from the petrol station.

Take the old one home, fix it there and then use that as the spare, much easier than farting about on tow paths with patches

Yes, they are both wrapped in clingfilm and with a shoe lace at the end so I can pull the tube out. There are latex gloves in there as well.

 

[Gunk]

Yes, they are both wrapped in clingfilm and with a shoe lace at the end so I can pull the tube out. There are latex gloves in there as well.

When it comes to inner tubes, you know your onions 🧅

 

[tinywheels]

my brompton toolkit has been binned. the little spanner thingy has expired, it's mechanism gave up and a tiny bit went missing.
I don't miss it, over rated and overpriced I'm afraid.
Frankly on the occasions I used it it proved fiddly and somewhat annoying. I don't miss it.

 

[FrankCrank]

Aren't there a few varieties of airless tyres doing the rounds these days? I've heard they give a harsher ride, but given that Brommy tyres are pumped up super hard, would you really notice the difference?

Internally geared hubs are great, but a bit of a pain when the puncture fairy visits. Quick release wheels really shine on these occasions.

All to do with horses for courses I know.

 

[T4tomo]

Thanks and yes; it's very much undermined my faith in the tyres' ability to get me to work and back reliably.. although as you say hopefully unlucky.

It is bad luck, although.....

are you running it with the marathon racers pictured on page 1 (I cant be arsed with going thru 22 pages of this thread to see if you've changed them!! ) if so it may be worth running either standard marathons or marathon pluses. As you go up the chain you trade off ride quality for puncture resistance and harder wearing / longevity.

personally i think standard marathons are the sweet-spot, the pluses can be a bit overly numb, but they are bomb proof.

If you are doing a lot on a poorly surfaced tow path, then the racers are probably a bit too lightweight for your needs.

YMMV but in 12-15 years of brommie commuting (all on roads admittedly), the only punctures i got were when I was running the old brompton branded tyre towards the end of its life. I then switched to regular Marathons and never saw the puncture fairy again

 

[wafter]

Stick a spare inner tube inside the frame

Thanks for the suggestion - although as per my thoughts on the toolkit I'm not keen on sticking stuff in the frame if I'm going to stick a load of cavity wax up it. Besides, there's plenty of room in the pocket inside the front bag to take what I need to carry - which (yesterday's antics notwithstanding) consists of a puncture repair kit with levers and many patches, spare new tube and 15mm spanner. I plan to add a chain tool and spare quicklink to this too..

Take the old one home, fix it there and then use that as the spare, much easier than farting about on tow paths with patches

Tbh I prefer to patch on-site if possible; leaving the known-good tube as a last resort.

Just consider the number of times it's got you to work and back reliably compared to the number of times it didn't. I suspect that the balance is heavily in favour of reliability. Even when punctured, you made it to work and back somehow.

Spare tubes, spare patches and a fresh unopened tube of rubber solvent. If you haven't had a puncture for a while it's more than inconvenient to find that a previously opened one contains only air as it has an amazing ability to evaporate despite a tightly screwed on cap. You can get packs of small ones on ebay quite cheaply.

One positive aspect of all this is that once you've had the wheel off a few times it gets less daunting to fix a rear wheel puncture.

This is true, however I've now gone from no punctures in 650ish miles to three in this time; dropping the reliability massively to one every 220-ish miles which to me is unacceptable.

On both occasions I failed / chose not to fix the puncture in-place, instead wheeling the bike to the destination. In both cases I was lucky that the problem happened relatively close to the end of the journey; however since I'm riding tow paths my ability to sack it off and catch a bus if I can't fix the puncture is extremely limited.

I was also lucky that the weather was OK - both experiences / the prospect of repairing the puncture would have been so much more unpleasant had it been cold / raining. In addition given the faff of addressing a puncture on the rear of the Brompton such a failure has the potential to add maybe half an hour or more to my journey time.. which is unacceptable.

You could argue that I was unlucky to get the punctures, equally you could also argue that I've been lucky to this point to avoid getting any before now. The drawing pin could be potentially written off as an unlikely occurrance, however moving into autumn I suspect the liklihood of encountering thorns on the tow path will only increase.

If there's a viable way of better loading the odds in my favour then I'm very happy to explore alternatives!

my brompton toolkit has been binned. the little spanner thingy has expired, it's mechanism gave up and a tiny bit went missing.
I don't miss it, over rated and overpriced I'm afraid.
Frankly on the occasions I used it it proved fiddly and somewhat annoying. I don't miss it.

That's a shame; however I sort of got that impression too. Thanks for validating my choice to be tight-fisted

Aren't there a few varieties of airless tyres doing the rounds these days? I've heard they give a harsher ride, but given that Brommy tyres are pumped up super hard, would you really notice the difference?

Internally geared hubs are great, but a bit of a pain when the puncture fairy visits. Quick release wheels really shine on these occasions.

All to do with horses for courses I know.

They seem to do the rounds every few years, however I don't think anyone's yet brought one to market that's not utterly horrible. The ones on my Ofo were pretty nasty by every metric..

It is bad luck, although.....

are you running it with the marathon racers pictured on page 1 (I cant be arsed with going thru 22 pages of this thread to see if you've changed them!! ) if so it may be worth running either standard marathons or marathon pluses. As you go up the chain you trade off ride quality for puncture resistance and harder wearing / longevity.

personally i think standard marathons are the sweet-spot, the pluses can be a bit overly numb, but they are bomb proof.

If you are doing a lot on a poorly surfaced tow path, then the racers are probably a bit too lightweight for your needs.

YMMV but in 12-15 years of brommie commuting (all on roads admittedly), the only punctures i got were when I was running the old brompton branded tyre towards the end of its life. I then switched to regular Marathons and never saw the puncture fairy again

Yes, I'm still on the Racers and appreciate how these (with their thin, tough protection layer) might not be so great for protection against piercing by thin, sharp objects such as thorns and bloody drawing pins.

The deeper, softer protection layer on Marathons might be a better bet in this regard, however I suspect only if the puncture hazard is shorter than the protection layer is deep. Tbh I'm not keen on changing to Marathons for all the usual reasons, and am much more keen to explore tubeless possibilities as I think these three recent failures would have been non-issues with tubeless given how tiny the actual holes were.. the only problem I could see being the need to remove the bit of the drawing pin left lodged in the tyre.. although I suspect the sealant would have prevented leakage in this area until the problem could be addressed at a more convenient time.

The tow paths I'm riding on are well-surfaced (so no chance of pinch punctures from jagged bits of rock) however the big issue is clearly the thorns lying on the floor once the hedges have been cut / potentially as stuff dies and falls off..

 

[T4tomo]

Thanks for the suggestion - although as per my thoughts on the toolkit I'm not keen on sticking stuff in the frame if I'm going to stick a load of cavity wax up it. Besides, there's plenty of room in the pocket inside the front bag to take what I need to carry - which (yesterday's antics notwithstanding) consists of a puncture repair kit with levers and many patches, spare new tube and 15mm spanner. I plan to add a chain tool and spare quicklink to this too..



Tbh I prefer to patch on-site if possible; leaving the known-good tube as a last resort.



This is true, however I've now gone from no punctures in 650ish miles to three in this time; dropping the reliability massively to one every 220-ish miles which to me is unacceptable.

On both occasions I failed / chose not to fix the puncture in-place, instead wheeling the bike to the destination. In both cases I was lucky that the problem happened relatively close to the end of the journey; however since I'm riding tow paths my ability to sack it off and catch a bus if I can't fix the puncture is extremely limited.

I was also lucky that the weather was OK - both experiences / the prospect of repairing the puncture would have been so much more unpleasant had it been cold / raining. In addition given the faff of addressing a puncture on the rear of the Brompton such a failure has the potential to add maybe half an hour or more to my journey time.. which is unacceptable.

You could argue that I was unlucky to get the punctures, equally you could also argue that I've been lucky to this point to avoid getting any before now. The drawing pin could be potentially written off as an unlikely occurrance, however moving into autumn I suspect the liklihood of encountering thorns on the tow path will only increase.

If there's a viable way of better loading the odds in my favour then I'm very happy to explore alternatives!



That's a shame; however I sort of got that impression too. Thanks for validating my choice to be tight-fisted



They seem to do the rounds every few years, however I don't think anyone's yet brought one to market that's not utterly horrible. The ones on my Ofo were pretty nasty by every metric..



Yes, I'm still on the Racers and appreciate how these (with their thin, tough protection layer) might not be so great for protection against piercing by thin, sharp objects such as thorns and bloody drawing pins.

The deeper, softer protection layer on Marathons might be a better bet in this regard, however I suspect only if the puncture hazard is shorter than the protection layer is deep. Tbh I'm not keen on changing to Marathons for all the usual reasons, and am much more keen to explore tubeless possibilities as I think these three recent failures would have been non-issues with tubeless given how tiny the actual holes were.. the only problem I could see being the need to remove the bit of the drawing pin left lodged in the tyre.. although I suspect the sealant would have prevented leakage in this area until the problem could be addressed at a more convenient time.

The tow paths I'm riding on are well-surfaced (so no chance of pinch punctures from jagged bits of rock) however the big issue is clearly the thorns lying on the floor once the hedges have been cut / potentially as stuff dies and falls off..

Its your call, but I would add a couple of points

• there is a big difference between marathons and marathon plus for rideability / rolling resistance. I doubt they (marathons) would feel much different to your Racers to ride.
• because of the small wheels, to avoid rim damage etc you need to run bromptons at quite high pressures, I doubt you would get away with much under 80psi. Tubeless setups really need to be run under 50-60spi to be reliable. At 80psi you'd get sealant pissing out without sealing.
• There are no official tubeless rims and valves for Bromptons AFAIK.